Master Gibbon gazed at Leo, his old eyes holding a hint of complexity. They were once adversaries, but now they stood on the same side.
“You should be at the peak of the high-level Martial Master realm now, right?” Leo assessed Master Gibbon, breaking the ice.
Last time they crossed paths, he had left Master Gibbon with a parting punch. Now that they were allies, Leo felt a twinge of guilt for his previous actions.
“Yes,” Master Gibbon nodded, not sure why Leo was asking.
“I have two pills here. One can help you break through to the next level, and the other can consolidate your progress.” Leo took out a small vial containing Vitality Pills and handed two pills to Master Gibbon.
Previously, Leo had given a similar pill to Master Jennifer to advance her cultivation. After sharing a Vitality Pill with the Martial Arts Hall, he had only a few left. It seemed like he would need to refine more soon.
Inhaling the medicinal fragrance emanating from the pill in his palm, Master Gibbon’s elderly eyes immediately brightened. He looked at Leo with gratitude and asked, “Honorable Sect Leader, I heard from the Sect Leader that she advanced to the Intermediate Great Martial Master level by taking your elixir. Is this the elixir you provided?”
Leo smiled and nodded in response.
Seeing Leo’s nod, Master Gibbon eagerly swallowed one of the pills and then sat back on his meditation cushion. He began to circulate his inner energy, digesting the pill’s potency.
Leo observed quietly as this unfolded.
After five minutes, an invisible aura fluctuated around Master Gibbon. His robes billowed without the presence of any wind, and his aura had noticeably strengthened compared to before.
“I’ve actually broken through to the low-level Great Martial Master realm!” Master Gibbon exclaimed with an excited look in his old eyes.
He had been stuck at the peak of the low-level Warrior Martial Master realm for a long time. He couldn’t believe that a single pill had propelled him to the next level. The magic of these pills was truly remarkable.
“Thank you for bestowing me with these pills.” Master Gibbon expressed his gratitude, and his words now carried an extra note of respect for Leo.
“May I inquire about the purpose of your visit to the apothecary?” Master Gibbon continued.
“I’m here to obtain some medicinal herbs. Do you have any Snow Lotus Leaves in stock?” Leo asked.
Leo wanted Snow Lotus Leaves to refine a few Beauty-Preserving Pills for Sophia. Snow Lotus Leaves were the primary ingredient in these pills, accompanied by supporting herbs like Cold Moon Flower, Blue Wood Fragrance, White Atractylodes, and Poria. Among them, Snow Lotus Leaves were the rarest.
Master Gibbon contemplated for a moment and replied, “In our apothecary, we do have a single Snow Lotus.”
He then walked over to a storage room in the apothecary and retrieved a green box. When he opened it, Leo’s eyes were greeted by a crystal-clear Snow Lotus Leaf. It emitted a unique fragrance mixed with a hint of cold air.
Leo couldn’t hide his joy. He hadn’t expected to find a Snow Lotus Leaf here. He inspected it closely.
The Snow Lotus Leaf inside the box was mature, with leaves roughly the size of a child’s palm. This would allow him to refine two Beauty-Preserving Pills. In total, this Snow Lotus Leaf, if all went well, could yield six Beauty-Preserving Pills.
The auxiliary herbs, such as the Cold Moon Flower and Blue Wood Fragrance, were not too difficult to find. Under Master Gibbon’s guidance, Leo soon collected ten portions of each.
After leaving the apothecary, Leo found a quiet stone chamber nearby and began the process of refining Beauty-Preserving Pills.
Leo’s right hand formed a seal, summoning the Mystical Sky Bagua-Patterned Alchemical Furnace. The furnace’s body exuded a warm, purple radiance, gradually expanding in size.
“Let’s begin. Activate!” Leo pressed a Spiritual Power seal, and the lid of the Mystical Sky Bagua-Patterned Alchemical Furnace floated open.
“Go!” Leo made a hand gesture, and Snow Lotus Leaves, Cold Moon Flowers, Blue Wood Fragrance, and Poria floated into the furnace one by one.
“Spiritual Fire, ignite!” Leo exclaimed, and a pale blue flame ascended above his open palm.
“Release!” With a flick of his finger, the pale blue flame soared into the furnace.
Boom!
As the flame entered the furnace, the inside immediately turned fiery red. Refining the Beauty-Preserving Pills started with extracting the essence of the medicinal herbs using spiritual fire.
Since Leo hadn’t reached the Great Spirit Master realm and couldn’t manifest divine consciousness, he relied on enhancing his eyes with Spiritual Power to monitor the furnace’s progress. Under the scrutiny of his empowered vision, Leo activated the furnace’s spiritual fire and began the process of refining the herbal essence.
With the purification of the spiritual fire, impurities in the Snow Lotus Leaves were incinerated into nothingness, leaving behind six small translucent drops of liquid. Leo then directed the spiritual fire to purify the Cold Moon Flowers.
As time passed, all the herbs within the furnace had melted into liquid essence, floating in the furnace. Now, the process of pill formation, which was the most mentally and spiritually taxing, began. It involved melding these herb essences together to create pill pellets.
Leo activated several flames one after another, injecting them into the furnace. This marked the process of forming the pill pellets through a meticulous blending of the essences.
Thirty minutes later, within the furnace, five round pellets took shape.
“The pills are ready. Open the furnace!” Leo changed his hand seal, and the lid of the Mystical Sky Bagua-Patterned Alchemical Furnace floated open. A refreshing aroma filled the stone chamber.
Leo gestured, and five pills floated out, landing in his palm. These five pills were snow-white, perfectly round, and exuded a cool fragrance.
“Pretty lucky; we only lost one pill. The quality of the remaining five Beauty-Preserving Pills is quite high.” Leo’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he transferred the five pills into a white coral vial.
Alchemy, whether concerning Spiritual Power or mental energy, was quite draining. Leo closed his eyes, activating the Nine Heavens Star Chart to restore his Spiritual Power.
After regaining his Spiritual Power, Leo initially planned to leave the Seven Stars Sword Sect. However, he suddenly remembered the crocodile skin he had peeled off during his preparation of the alligator feast.
The crocodile skin was valuable and shouldn’t be wasted. Leo felt that crafting armor from it was a good idea. Given his recent confrontations, having armor as protection could be quite beneficial. Purple Electric Spirit Crocodile skin was already bulletproof, and with refinement, its defensive capabilities would become even stronger.
With this idea in mind, Leo decided to set to work.
He retrieved the Purple Electric Spirit Crocodile mother’s skin and the blood collected from the alligators and moved them into the same stone chamber he used for alchemy.
Once everything was prepared, Leo stood before the stretched-out Purple Electric Spirit Crocodile mother’s skin, still radiating a faint purple light. It retained a hint of its former power, considering that this creature was a spiritual beast.